Westlake Rams clinch 30‑year state championship
The Westlake Rams baseball squad captured the Non‑Select Division III state championship on Saturday, ending a three‑decade title drought that had lingered since their last crown in 1996.
The series against the Sterlington Panthers unfolded as a classic best‑of‑three showdown. After dropping the opening game 5‑3, the Rams rallied to fall 18‑7 in game two, setting the stage for a winner‑takes‑all contest that would decide the champion.
In the decisive third game, Westlake surged to a 6‑2 victory, with senior shortstop Cooper Cryer sealing the win by recording the final out. The performance earned Mason Conrad the tournament’s most outstanding player award after he threw a complete game and fanned four batters.
The triumph resonated beyond the diamond, as former Ram Brent Anderson, a member of the 1996 championship team, watched proudly from the stands as his son Brody celebrated the victory, linking two generations of Rams glory.
Fans and alumni alike are already heralding the win as a turning point for the program, with hopes that the momentum will carry the Rams into a new era of success.